Wen Qingye walked up to the stone disks. He slowly reached out, took a deep breath, and placed his hand on the bottommost one, which was also the largest.
Wen Qingye was no longer the man he used to be. He cultivated the Longevity Technique and had recently been soaking in medicinal baths. His meridians and bones had long since become extraordinary.
"What is Wen Qingye doing? Is he going to try and lift all nine layers?"
"Don't be ridiculous. How is that possible? In past years, he's only ever lifted four layers."
"He must be giving up. Absolutely. He has to be!"
Wen Qingye's brows furrowed. He gathered all the Primordial Qi in his body into his hands and stomped his foot. A massive surge of Primordial Qi cracked the ground beneath him. The veins on his arms bulged and twisted, displaying incredible power. Then, to everyone's amazement, the stone disk in Wen Qingye's hands slowly began to move.
Everyone stared at Wen Qingye, dumbfounded, their eyes filled with disbelief.
"How... how is this possible? How could Wen Qingye lift the ninth layer?" Wen Hai's face paled, and his lips trembled.
The ninth layer. Since the founding of Phoenix City, who had ever managed to lift the ninth layer before the age of twenty? There had been some, yes, but those people were all peerless geniuses who had passed the assessment in their early teens.
Yet now, before everyone's eyes, Wen Qingye had actually lifted the ninth layer, shocking them all.
'Could it be that Wen Qingye was a late bloomer, a true genius?' everyone thought as they stared at him.
Zhang Hua also watched Wen Qingye in disbelief. He then turned to look at Wen Xu and saw that he, too, was staring at Wen Qingye in shock. A chill went down Zhang Hua's spine. 'Looks like I need to have a proper chat with this Wen Qingye,' he thought.
Situ Haoming couldn't help but sneer. "So what if it's the ninth layer? Look how old he is. Besides, people who can do that before they turn twenty are a dime a dozen in the Celestial Martial Country. It's just a record for a minor city like Phoenix City."
Wu Jing nodded in agreement. If past geniuses had all chosen to bide their time, it wouldn't have been difficult for them to lift the ninth layer either.
Liu Ling murmured, "Last year, Wen Qingye only lifted four layers. This year, he jumped straight to the ninth. That rate of progress... it's just too fast."
Gao Yuerou stood nearby, biting her lip. She nodded slightly as she thought to herself, 'Wen Qingye, are you a late-blooming genius? Then why were you so cowardly before? Were you just making a fool of me?'
Wen Qingye slowly walked down, everyone staring at him in shock. He smiled at Zhang Xiaoyun and said, "Yun'er, why are you crying? I passed, didn't I?"
Zhang Xiaoyun's tears turned to a smile. "I'm crying because I'm happy."
Seeing Wen Qingye walk over to Zhang Xiaoyun's side, Gao Yuerou felt an inexplicable ache in her heart. The Wen Qingye of the past would have come straight to her, eager to share his joy.
The first trial eliminated more than half of the participants. The weakest among those who remained were at the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer Heaven—which was exactly Wen Qingye's level.
After a while, the commotion in the crowd died down, and Wu Jing slowly stepped forward.
"Alright, we will now begin the second trial."
Several people came out and carried the stone disks away, leaving the entire plaza feeling vast and empty.
The second trial was a battle royale. Everyone who passed the first trial had to stand within the plaza. Anyone who stepped out of the designated area would be disqualified. The trial would end when only ten people remained.
This trial tested not only strength but also cunning. Of course, sometimes geniuses were singled out and ganged up on, but if the examiners spotted exceptional talent, they might recruit them directly anyway.
Wen Qingye stepped onto the plaza. Wen Hai's eyes were glued to him. "Wen Qingye, soon I'll make you understand what it feels like to cry out to the heavens and earth with no one to answer! I'm going to teach you a lesson on behalf of Brother Tongyu."
Since Liu Ling hadn't passed the first trial, she could only wait off to the side with Zhang Xiaoyun. Gao Yuerou, however, had managed to lift six layers of the stone disks. At only eighteen years old, her aptitude was clearly impressive.
Gao Yuerou looked at Wen Qingye, pursed her lips, and said, "Do you want to come over to where the Gao Family disciples are with me?"
Wen Qingye shook his head. "No, thanks. I'm not a disciple of the Gao Family, it wouldn't be appropriate."
Gao Yuerou nodded and walked over to the spot where the Gao Family disciples had gathered.
The Gao Family disciples were all clustered together for protection. Wen Qingye, however, was clearly disliked by the Wen Family and not favored by the Zhang Family. On top of that, with his strength only at the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer Heaven, no one was willing to team up with him.
Wen Qingye scanned the participants in the plaza; they were all glaring at him like tigers eyeing their prey. He knew that if he participated in this second trial, he would definitely be ganged up on.
But would Wen Qingye be afraid? A faint smile touched the corners of his lips as he slowly walked into the plaza.
At that moment, watching his solitary back as he walked out to face everyone with such composure, the hearts of the crowd trembled.
Seeing that everyone was more or less ready, Wu Jing nodded and announced, "Alright, you may begin!"
The surroundings fell silent. In the plaza, everyone watched each other warily, but no one made the first move.
Wen Hai walked toward Wen Qingye with a sinister grin. "None of you move," he said. "I'll deal with this Wen Qingye first."
Zhang Chuan nodded. "Fine. The Zhang Family will stand down for now."
With the Zhang Family's agreement, the other families didn't object either. All eyes turned to Wen Qingye, who stood in a corner. The battle royale had suddenly turned into a one-on-one duel.
Everyone understood at a glance that Wen Hai had no intention of letting Wen Qingye stay in the competition.
A cold smile suddenly touched the corners of Wen Qingye's lips. 'Today,' he thought, 'not a single person from the Wen Family or the Zhang Family will be left standing.'
The surrounding contestants slowly backed away, while Wen Qingye calmly stepped forward.
Wen Hai said coldly, "Don't think you're my match just because you lifted the nine-layer stone disk. I'm at the Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer Heaven, while you're merely at the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer Heaven."
"Wen Hao, what's wrong with you?" a Wen Family disciple asked from the sidelines, seeing Wen Hao trembling uncontrollably.
Wen Hao shook his head. "It's nothing. I probably just overdid it with my fist training recently."
He would never forget that day—or Wen Qingye's eyes.
Seeing Wen Qingye stand there silently, Wen Hai grew furious. He stomped his right foot, which was enveloped in Primordial Qi, shaking the ground. Then, his body shot toward Wen Qingye.
Just as Wen Hai was about to reach Wen Qingye, his hand shot forward, forming a claw. It was wreathed in a cyan airflow and radiated a sharp, killing intent that seemed to chill the very air.
Wen Hai's clawed hand shot toward Wen Qingye's chest; he clearly had no intention of showing any mercy.
The claw was as swift as the wind, carrying a bloodthirsty aura.
"Tearing Wind Claw!"
Wen Qingye took a step back with his right foot. His right fist pulsed with a mountain-like aura, and his entire palm glowed with a cyan light. Behind him, the faint, majestic silhouette of a mountain seemed to appear.
"Cyan Mountain Fist!"
The fist and claw collided in midair. The clash of dense Primordial Qi created a tremendous roar, causing many of the onlookers to gasp in surprise.
BAM BAM BAM! BAM BAM BAM! BAM BAM BAM BAM!
"The Ten-Echo Cyan Mountain Fist! How is that possible?" Wen Xu shot to his feet, exclaiming in astonishment.
The crowd around them seemed to turn to stone, staring blankly at Wen Qingye.
Situ Haoming shook his head and muttered, "A bunch of country bumpkins. The highest level of the Cyan Mountain Fist is ten echoes. It does require a certain aptitude to cultivate to that point, but still... who would waste their time mastering a Basic Boxing Skill?"